Israeli-Palestinian Talks Continue in WashingtonIsraeli and Palestinian negotiators met in seclusion at two U.S. air bases here Wednesday for a second day but little progress appeared to have been made ahead of the expected arrival of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said at a regular briefing that the negotiators have split into two groups, one to discuss "final status" issues at Bolling Air Force Base, and the other, at Andrews Air Force Base, to talk about disputes left over from previous negotiations. He said Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross, who returned from the funeral of Syrian President Hafez Assad Wednesday morning, may be meeting with the negotiators at each site separately and together at some point. Arafat is expected to arrive in Washington Wednesday evening to meet at the White House with President Bill Clinton on Thursday, he added. Though Boucher refused to go into details of the ongoing talks, reports here indicated that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have so far made no apparent breakthrough. A top Palestinian negotiator revealed that negotiations with Israel were even once halted Wednesday in a dispute over the third withdrawal by Israeli troops from the West Bank and Israel's refusal to release more than a handful of Palestinian prisoners, the Associated Press reported. A source close to the Israeli delegation complained that "the Palestinians are avoiding serious discussion of the more delicate questions and are insisting on talking only about a third redeployment and prisoners." It was reported that the negotiators may remain through the weekend to continue their discussions, which is still aiming to work out a framework agreement for a "final status" pact before the September 13 deadline. |
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